Tribute to my Praktica BCA

[Nelson]

this post just for talking about my old BCA

In 1990, at age of 15, i bought my first camera. Wanted a true camera, will intergeanble lenses, got few money, but few knowledge of the art of photography.

I bought a Praktica BCA with Prakticar 35-70 and a Starblitz flash.
if i had more knowledge about cameras and photography, may be i woul not have bought this one. BCA is a Aperture "priority" reflex, you just can ajust aperure, you are not able to select speed...

But neverthless I love this camera.
Few years after i bought a prakticar 80-210, but i did not use it a lot, vision in viewfinder was too dark

By this time, i did not know what bokeh was and it did not know how to use "aperture".

Then i bought a pentacon 50mm f1.8 and everything changed. WOAW.....
Then came a Pentacon 135, a 28mm and a extrender x2.

In 2000, i found a BC1 with winder and 50mm.

In 2001, AutoFocus called me
All of my friends had Canon EOS, so i bought a EOS 300.
I believe i made 15 or 20 rolls with it. it is a very good camera but, something was wrong... may be because i bought some month before a Olympus mu 2. This one was a MASTERPIECE.

Then came EOS 350D, but this is another story... and a new birth for me.

Even i no more use Prakticas, i love them.


I made a lot of photographs with BCA.
This topic to share some of them with you.
They are not the sharpest, not the best, but they are part of MY story as a photographer










Hope i did not bore you too much

ps : I beg your pardon, if i made too much mistakes writing in English.

[Attila]

Nice story and really nice from you too keep this great cam!

[Jesito]

Hi Nelson,
Nice pictures and nice history.
It's wonderful to keep our old cameras, but they're not dead at all!.
If we take the dust off the old cameras and use it from time to time, we'll keep the film alive...
I recently got a nice Praktica VLC3 body, and I'm planning to use it heavily with my old M42 Russian lenses.

Best regards,
Jes.

[Nelson]

In fact :

Praktica BCA need new foam, a little light enters the camera.
Praktica BC1 has a defect, sometime the shutter does not work.
And i even do not use the EOS 300 neither the mju2... and damn i love a lot this little camera !

But digital age was a new birth for me, i think my photography skill made lot of improvements with it.

[patrickh]

Nelson

What a wonderful journey. I think we all never forget our first good camera and lens - it is such a revelation


patrickh

[Laurence]

I love to "live" life's journeys as a clandestine observer! THANK YOU for the story AND the images. This is a wonderful way to utilize the forum. I appreciate your putting these up for us to see!

[Richard_D]

Great story and nice images. I wish I hadn't sold my Zenith 12xp. Yes I could replace it cheaply but it wouldn't be the same.

[Orio]

Hello Nelson,
yes, the first camera is never forgotten

I love the first image and especially the last one, because the composition is a bit "spirited" just like the subject is
This is one thing that we often forget about, there is a bond between the subject and the composition. Yours is a good example of one that works.

-

[Nelson]

Put a B&W film in the BCA in january, but still didn't finish it...

Today I receive some new toys
a praktica BC1 with Tamron 46A (never saw a lens in suach a bad condition ) AND the adaptall Ring for praktica B !

Now I can use long telephoto as i dreamt whem i was 15 !




I am happy

[Attila]

Congrats!! When I was young I also couldn't afford BC1 + long lens at all. I still love to shoot better on film than digital.

[Nelson]

Attila, can you moe this topic to film section ?

[Shiladitya]

[estudleon]

Thanks for sharing your dreams, your cams and a bit of your soul too.

The first cam is in our heart like our first love. Perhaps there are two surfaces of the same thing: the first illusion.


Thanks again. Rino.